Co-ops in Hanley Falls, Murdock offer group health to farmer members
Legislation approved at the onset of the 2017 session of the
"We did it once before: The only issue is the Affordable Care Act put the kibosh on it," said
Under the Affordable Care Act, known to many as ObamaCare, farmers were among the 4 percent of
Many spouses are working off-the-farm so their families can access affordable health insurance through their employers, Doyscher said.
Land O'Lakes was able to experiment with forming a group insurance program for farmers last year. It offered the program only to its dairy producers, and it worked well, according to Doyscher.
Land O'Lakes provides a group health insurance program for its employees as well as the employees of other farmer-owned cooperatives that are also Land O'Lakes members. It is using this as the template to offer the new group health plan for farmers.
Doyscher said it offers a range of several policies, from a catastrophic, high-deductible policy to lower-deductible versions. It's part of the Preferred One health network, which means enrollees will find many available providers throughout the state.
Land O'Lakes partnered with
Doyscher said
At this point, Land O'Lakes and a separate farmer cooperative, known as 40 Square, are offering group health insurance policies for farmers in
Neither the Glacial Plains nor Hanley Falls Cooperatives have any ownership stake in the program being offered through Land O'Lakes.
"We don't have any so-called stake in the game, no benefit to the co-op," Doyscher said. "It's one more thing we can offer to our membership."
Membership is a must, however. To obtain the health insurance, a farmer must be a member of either the
Doyscher is confident there will be a lot of interest in the insurance. Since the cooperative announced its plans, he's been fielding phone calls from interested farmers every day, and this during a hectic harvest season.
The Hanley Falls Farmers Cooperative Elevator is hosting information meetings on the option at
The enrollment sign-up period is
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